Starlight at Dawn
by WinterAssassin
Summary: Dean and Sam stumble upon a 7 year old girl while working a case. They take her to the hospital, acting as her parents. In the mean time, Castiel comes to tell them that they must protect her no matter what, as she is of God and Goddess blood. Will they accept to look after and help the child, with their plates already full as is?
1. Chapter 1: Lonely Child

Starlight at Dawn

OoOoO

Chapter One: Lonely Child

OoOoO

"Dean, are you _positive_ it's here?" Sam practically whined, his shoulders sagging as he stepped over fallen branches. Dean walked a few steps in front of him, his hand tightly wrapped around the flash light.

"Shut it, Sam. We're on to this thing." Dean replied, his eyes darting around the dark surrounding them, tense as he continued walking.

"The only thing it is, is a werewolf." Sam rolled his eyes, glancing up to the moon which was at it's highest in the starry sky. The Full moon provided light, but was drowned out mostly by the trees of the forest they were in.

"_Sam._" Dean hissed, sending his brother a look from over his shoulder. He ignored Sam's equally annoyed look, and focused his eyes in front of him.

Dean immediately tensed when he heard the snapping of twigs, and turned towards the source of the noise. He shone the flash light in the direction, and saw a shadow run from out of the bush.

Without a second thought, he burst into a run, tailing the werewolf with Sam following behind him. His hand had already gone for his gun, which was loaded with silver bullets. He shot blindly in front of him, and heard a satisfying growl of pain.

"Good, we can track it better like this, plus it'll slow down." Dean mumbled to Sam, his eyes narrowing as he followed the sound of the wounded werewolf. The brothers could vaguely hear the whimpers of the wolf, as it scurried away from the Hunting pair.

Sam, like Dean, had his gun out which was obviously loaded with silver bullets as well, and was prepared if the beast decided to attack.

It must have read his mind, because all of a sudden, the werewolf jumped from the shadows of the night, knocking him over.

Sam heard Dean shout his name as he realized that the gun had flown out of his hand from the shock. He hastily looked for it, but couldn't see it without any other light. He felt the claws of the werewolf dig into his clothed side, puncturing his skin. Sam groaned out as he struggled to keep the once human being at bay as it tried to bite at him.

Sam tilted his head away from the jaws of the overly hairy human, his fingers digging into the barely clothes shoulders as he brought his knee up harshly, managing to knock the familiar creature off of him.

Dean used that moment to shoot the werewolf, the few silver bullets imbedding in it's brain. The creature fell to the ground with a thud, unmoving.

"Thanks." Sam muttered as Dean helped him up. He took the flash light from his brothers hand, shining it on the werewolf. "Dean, this isn't the same one..." Sam mumbled, his eyes scanning for any other wounds. "It doesn't have a wound from when you shot it."  
"There must be more somewhere near by..." Dean swore, reloading his gun out of minor worry. He turned back to Sam, looking over his wounds. "Are you okay?" He asked, knowing it was a stupid question to ask.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, just a couple deep scratches, not that bad." Sam replied honestly, finally finding his lost gun. He reached for said gun, pulling it out of the muddy grass with a frown on his face.

While Dean suspiciously looked around, Sam wiped the mud from his gun with distaste, checking the area every few seconds that passed. "Well, now what?" He asked awkwardly, waving his gun beside him in a shrugging motion.

"Yeah, exactly." Dean snorted, tilting his head in Sam's direction. Sam's eyes darted to the right as he heard shuffling.

Another werewolf had stumbled out, collapsing on the ground beside the dead one. Sam raised his eyebrow, his gun pointed to the fallen werewolf.

Dean stood straight, staring at it, "Hey, that was the one I shot!" He said, smiling rather innocently. Sam just shook his head, and pulled the trigger, ending it's apparent misery.

Sadly, it had been a set up, two more werewolves jumped from the trees surprisingly silent. They tackled the brothers to the ground, Sam and Dean grunting from the force of it.

"Jesus Christ!" Sam yelled, annoyed at the fact that his gun had yet again flew from his hand, and into another mud pile. Sure, he hadn't seen it, but he heard the definite plopping sound of it.

"Dean! You good?" Sam called, hastily reeling his arm back to punch the werewolves face. He heard a crack and a growl, sending a glare in the beasts direction, his free hand flailing about on the ground as he tried to grab his fallen weapon.

He heard a few gun shots, signaling that Dean had taken care of the werewolf that was attacking him. Sam heard the growls of the humanoid figure on top of him, sharp teeth being held back by his arm.

"Dean-" Sam was cut off when the werewolf suddenly went limp on him, blood slowly pouring from the back of it's head. "Uh, Dean?" Sam questioned, pushing the limp body off of his so he could stand. He was pretty sure he hadn't heard any gun shots, which confused him.

"Uh, dude, that wasn't me." Dean said, helping Sam up for the second time. Their eyes scanned the trees, flashlight back in Dean's hand.

They heard a whine come from the left, but it didn't sound like a werewolf one, but of a child. Wait, child?

"Dean, I could have sworn I hear-" He was interrupted by the same whine, and he pointed in the direction it came from. Dean shone the light towards the ground, eyes widening as he saw a small figure on the ground.

"Oh my God, Dean! She's just a little kid!" Sam hissed, stepping over the dead werewolf. Dean stopped him, staring. "What if it's a trick?" He asked.  
"Dean, seriously?" Sam huffed, pushing past his brothers out stretched arm, crouching beside the small girl, ignoring Dean's face of disbelief. "Okay, fine. Lets go see the little dead girl who could possibly be a monster or part of a master trap." He stressed, begrudgingly walking over. He crouched beside his brother, shining the flash light over the small body. Dean immediately regretted his words as he found a various bite marks and deep cuts on her upper body, blood freely pouring from her wounds. "This was our fault, wasn't it?" He asked after a moment, glaring at the ground.

"We should really take her to the hospital." Sam said, standing as he removed his jacket, putting it over the girls body. "She's alive, but just out cold." He stated, picking her fragile body up with ease. Dean was hardly paying attention, thinking about the possibility of another life lost at their hands.

"Dean, come on!" Sam said, shuffling towards the car with the girl in his arms. Dean snapped out of his trance and jogged after Sam and climbed into the Impala.

"How is she?" Dean asked after a few minutes of silence as he drove from the forest. The hospital was only ten minutes away, and he wondered if it was going to be enough time...

"Still losing a lot of blood." Sam said, craning his neck to peer at the girl in the back seat. "God, she better not die." He added after a pause.

Dean only nodded, his eyes focused on the road in front of him. Sam bit his lip, occasionally turning to check on her, feeling her pulse, making sure she was alive. "But, isn't it strange that she was out in the middle of the forest? In the middle of the night, at that... Plus, she looks sort of... dirty." Sam stared, his eyebrow raised.

Dean shrugged, "I don't know, man," He replied, glancing at a sign. "Almost there." He added, taking a right at an exit that lead to the hospital.

Six minutes later, they arrived at the hospital, both getting out quickly. Sam opened the back door, gently pulling the girl out from the backseat. He momentarily froze when he heard a quite groan, and then looked at Dean, then back to the girl in his arms.

It nearly gave him a heart attack when he saw eyes staring back into his. "She's awake," He sighed in relief, his eyes casting to Dean's. Dean nodded, moving closer to her.

Her eyes were dull as she stared up at Sam, but seemed to be almost glowing in the dark of the night. "It's okay, you're going to be fine." Sam said, walking towards the entrance quickly.

The girls eyes moved from his, staring at the hospital. A few seconds later, she was out again.

They both stepped into the hospital, the smell making filling their lungs and the white walls bright. "Hey, we need some help!" Dean called.

Luckily, a nurse had already spotted them, and came rushing over. "What happened!?" She demanded after telling someone to get a stretcher.

"We don-" Sam hardly had any time to reply when the nurse took the girl from his arms and gently put her on the stretcher as fast as she could without being rough. "Stay there!" She snapped, wheeling it away with a few others following after her. The brothers glanced at each other, and found a place to sit, ignoring the stares of other patients or those waiting.

Fifteen minutes passed, and the same nurse came strutting towards them, papers attached to a clip board in her hand, a pen in the other. "Alright, we're going to need to stitch her up. It isn't as bad as it looked, but she's going to need to stay the rest of the night. Is she your daughter? Because we need the parents signatures along with your ID's." She stuck her nose up, literally shoving the clip board at Dean, along with the pen.

"Wai- Uh, we-" Sam stuttered, feeling helpless as the nurse turned away, not letting him finish. He sighed, and looked at Dean. "What do we do now?" He whispered, glaring around them.

"Pretend to be her parents, I guess." Dean whispered back, scribbling down his fake alias he had used earlier for the case they were working. Time passed as he filled out the papers, wishing he was at a bar flirting with some hot lady instead of filling out papers for a little girl.

He cared. He did, but he still was allowed to wish.

Once he finally finished, Sam and him made their way up to the front desk, handing the nurse the various forms. Dean shook his hand, his fingers hurting from gripping the pen for so long.

"So, who's is she?" She asked after a moment, reading over the papers.

"What?" Dean asked after a pregnant pause, leaning closer.

"The child. Is she from you or him? Or did you just adopt?" The nurse asked after she gave an annoyed huff. Sam looked at her weirdly.

"Da- uhh, from me..." Dean said, confused.

"Alright. What's her name?" The woman narrowed her eyes, finding that spot blank.

"Mary." They both replied, blinking at each other in surprise.

OoOoO

*Whistles* Hooray for new stories. *slapped*

I know, I should be working on my many other unfinished stories, but, I suddenly thought of this, and yeah... I wrote.. it... TTuTT;

Tell me what you think?

~Love me or Hate me~


	2. Chapter 2: Woeful Child

Starlight at Dawn

OoOoO

Chapter Two: Woeful Child

OoOoO

Her eyes snapped open, blurry and wet, as she looked around the room. She blinked away the wetness, eyes focusing on the woman in front of her.

The nurse paused and smiled a moment after. "Hello, Mary. It's good to see your awake." The woman said quietly, touching the girls head in a reassuring manner, turning to leave the room.

'Mary...' The girl thought, making a face as the door closed gently behind the nurse. Her eyes darted around the room, spotting a window. If she could just get up-

The door opened, revealing two tall men, both looking relieved. She eyed them cautiously, seemingly forgetting that one of them looked vaguely familiar...

"Hey,_ uh_, girl," The shorter of the two started, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The taller shooting a glare at him.

He sat in the empty chair, his fingers Intertwined on his lap. "Hi." He said, offering a smile. "Do you mind telling us your name?" He asked, tiling his head a tad in questioning.

She only stared at him, lips parted ever so slightly as she sucked air in. The man shared a look with the other, both shrugging.

"Okay, then we'll stick to calling you Mary." The shorter one said, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. 'Mary' continued her stare down, unmoving as her eyes flickered to both men.

"I," He motioned to himself, "Am Dean. This is my brother Sam." He said, motioning to the darker haired man. Mary stayed silent, barely offering that she had heard him.

"You speak the English?" He asked after a pause, inclining his head towards her. Her only response was to blink, and continue to stare.

"Oh God, now she's gonna tell us she sees dead people." Dean choked back, looking around the room with narrowed eyes.

Sam snorted, rolling his eyes at his brother. He smiled softly at Mary, thinking of what he should say to her. Sam was about to speak up, but stopped when he noticed her looking down at her body.

He followed her eyes, staring at the many bandages that clung to her tiny frame. "We found you in the forest. You were littered with wounds." Sam spoke softly, wondering if she was curious about her current state.

He felt as if he shouldn't be telling this to a little girl, but he didn't hold back. "I was wondering if you could tell us why you were in there." He added, pursing his lips. "We won't be mad, we just wish to return you to your real parents." He said slowly, offering another smile.

Mary lifted her gaze from the bandages, finally moving into a sitting position. She ignored the minor pain, knowing it'll go away in a matter of time either way.

"You can't." She said simply, her voice cracked from lack of use, making it sound broken and overly quiet.

Sam bit his lip, "We can't take you to your parents?" He asked, just wanting clarification if he had heard her right. Mary nodded slowly. "They didn't want me. So they sent me here." She supplied, not breaking her gaze from Sam's eyes.

"Here, as in Redwood, or..." Sam gestured with his hands, glancing at Dean briefly, before turning back to Mary.

"Earth." She replied, her eyes cast to the ground as she tensed at the flap of wings rebounding off the walls. She looked back up, her honey colors eyes resting on cold blue orbs.

"Cas!" Both Winchesters exclaimed, shocked that the angel made himself appear, especially in front of the child. Not that Castiel cared or anything, for that matter...

Castiel simply ignored the pair, and walked towards Mary. He put a hand on her cheek, staring at her intently. She stared back equally, raising her chin in the air, but the rest of her body unmoving.

Castiel pulled his hand back, taking a step back to face the Winchesters. "God," He started, surprising the brothers by talking suddenly. "God has asked me to ask that you watch over and take care of this child." He said, his gaze turning back to Mary.

"Wait, what?" Dean double-took, looking between the angel and the child. "I'm pretty sure that Mary has her own ho-"

"Mary?" Castiel interrupted, cocking his head to the side. "Her name is not Mary, it is Sophia. She is the daughter of the Greek God Apollo and his sister, Artemis."

"Wait- Greek God?" Sam gaped, staring at Castiel in shock.

"Wait- _Sister_?" Dean's jaw dropped. "That's just wrong, man." He shook his head, crossing his arms again.

"Well, God himself has told me that she was cast away, due to Apollo and Artemis' Forbidden Romance." Castiel said, seemingly confused, as his eyes darted from the Winchester's to Sophia.

"Huh." Sam nodded slowly. "Alright, weird... But, what did God mean, watch over and take care of her?" Sam swallowed, already knowing the answer to his stupid question. "Wait, wait, you spoke to God?" Dean frowned, he thought God had made himself scarce.

"Dean, that's beside the point." Sam snapped, sparingly casting his brother a glare. Castiel and Sophia could only stare. The angel shook his head after a moment. "It means, Sam, that you two must become her legal Guardians, or whatever you Humans call it. You must protect her from any danger that comes her way." Castiel stressed, stepping closer to Sophia.

"Whoa, whoa whoa, Cas. We can't just take some girl along with us." Dean exasperated, frowning as he pushed off the wall.

"But Dean, we also can't just leave her alone. She's still... just a child, right?" Sam blinked unsurely, his gaze flitting between Castiel and Sophia.

Castiel made a face, slowly looking at Sophia. "Not exactly. She is 87 years old." Castiel supplied, a hint of confusion detected in his voice. "Oh, but since she was sent to Earth, her human form ages much slower than her real... one..." Castiel trailed off, staring at the Winchester's bewildered faces.

The angel shook his head as if to clear it. "I'll just.. leave you two alone to think it over." Castiel advised, giving Sophia one last look before vanishing from the white hospital room.

Sophia watched the whole ordeal with disinterest as she moved her legs so they dangled off the side of the bed. She pushed herself from the bed, rigid as she stretched. Her honey orbs focused back on Sam, then rolled over to Dean.

"Aren't you still in pain?" Dean questioned, waiting for her response.

Sophia's rusty golden locks bobbed as she instantly shook her head. Her lips parted, but nothing came out. She was about to try again, but the door slide open, revealing the nurse.

"Alrightie, Dr. Oaklin has deemed in safe for Sophia to go home. You just need to sign some things, and pick up her medication for her wounds. She is not allowed to go to school for the next couple weeks, as she needs time to heal properly. Also, she can only eat certain things, and she'll need to come regularly for check ups, and to get her stitches removed." The nurse notified breathlessly.

Dean nodded slowly as he took it all in. "Great." He uttered, a fake smile on his handsome features.

OoOoO

Sam's eyes flicked in Dean's direction, his lips pursed as Dean pulled into the motel they were currently staying at.

"I suppose I'll need to extend our stay." Dean restated, as they had already discussed what was going to happen. Sam nodded, turning in his seat to look at Sophia.

"So, uh- Sophia, you hungry or something?" He asked, opening the door as the Impala came to a stop. He climbed out of the car, and opened the door for the child. Said girl scooted out from the back, silent as she looked around the area.

"Because there is a small restaurant in the lobby." Sam grunted, motioning to said lobby area. Sophia stared in the pointed direction, before nodding slowly.

The three walked into the lobby, with Dean heading over to extend their stay for another two weeks. Once he finished, they headed to the restaurant.

The main hostess greeted them with a bright smile, her white teeth shining in the dim atmosphere of the half-classy looking restaurant. "Three for today?" She asked, pulling three menus out with ease. Dean gave a nod, glancing at Sophia for a moment.

The hostess paused, looking down. "Awh, she is just adorable. How old is she?" She asked, giggling as she walked them to their table.

"87." Dean replied with an easy-going smile. Sam elbowed him, chuckling awkwardly. "What he means is, she's 7. In her own World she is 87..." He half-lied, patting Sophia's head.

"Aww, I remember when I was little, I used to have my own little imaginary world too! Anyway, your waitress will be right with you. Enjoy." The woman smiled as she walked away to greet other customers with her overly cheery smile.

"Do you know what you want?" Dean asked, looking over the menu in his hand. Sophia shook her head, blankly staring at the large menu. Sam awkwardly reached over, finding the kids section for her.

She looked at him, then at the words neatly printed out on the paper under the glossy plastic. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the words, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth.

The brothers shared a look before turning back to her. "Can you read or anything?" Dean asked, clearing his throat.

A short pause, then Sophia shook her head gently, her bangs covering her troubled eyes. Dean blinked, and flipped his pages to the kids section of the menu.

"Alright, your choices for this fine evening are: Hamburger, Chicken Fingers, Pizza, Grilled Cheese, and Pasta." Dean said, reading the small list off. "Wow, even I'd rather order off this menu." He added, ignoring Sam's snort of amusement.

"Yeah, we can all see who the oldest is here." Sam commented, smirking in a rare teasing way.

"Shut it, Sammy." Dean scoffed, closing the menu, knowing what he wanted already. "So, know what you want, kid?" Dean asked, nodding his head at her. Sophia stared at the words in confusion, before nodding. "Chicken fingers..." She murmured, pointing to the second one.

A few minutes later, a waitress had came up with a pen and paper in her hands. "Hello, are you ready to order?" She asked, smiling sweetly, her gaze lingering on Sophia.

"Oh, yeah, can I get the Chicken cesar salad with a coke?" Sam answered, smiling up at the waitress as he handed her his menu. She nodded as she jotted it down. "For you, sir?" She asked, looking at Dean.

"I'll get the special today, and she'll get the kid chicken fingers with fries and uh, juice." Dean said quizzically, tilting his head in thought.

"Okay, orange or apple? Also, would you like fries or onion rings?"

"Hey, kid, what kind of juice you want?" Dean asked. Sophia just stared at him, shyly glancing at the waitress. She didn't give a reply, keeping silent as she idly swung her feet under the table.

"She'll take... orange. And he'll take fries." Sam smiled awkwardly, watching as the waitress walked away with their orders after a moment of confusion.

OoOoO

A good hour had passed since then, and they had long finished their food, and were now inside the motel room.

"Where is she going to sleep?" Sam finally brought up the question, watching as Sophia was seated on the large couch, staring at the bright flashing colors on the TV with minor awe splayed on her childish features.

Dean paused, looking at his rather comfortable bed. "I dunno, dude. She could sleep with you or something." He shrugged nonchalantly, turning back to their fathers 'Hunting Journal'.

Sam looked at Dean weirdly, before turning back to Sophia. Her face made him chuckle quietly. Dean looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

He cocked his head in Sophia's direction, and watched in amusement as Dean turned to the girl. He chuckled again when he saw Dean crack a small smile.

Sophia's lips were parted and her eyes slightly wide as she tightly clutched one of the pillows from the bed in her thin arms as she stared at the TV like it was the most interesting thing in the World...

OoOoO

Awwwww~! Cute Winchester-Sophia bonding time~ *dies*

Huh, this chapter turned out longer than I had originally expected...

~Love me or Hate me~


End file.
